New protocols for restaurants
Chefs and diners are getting a better glimpse at what California restaurants will look like when they reopen their dining rooms, thanks to statewide guidelines released by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday.
The 12page document includes thorough disinfecting protocols, social distancing requirements and other recommendations, many of which have already been adopted by Bay Area restaurants that have remained open for takeout ever since six Bay Area counties and later the state made restaurant dining rooms off limits to customers in March.
The guidelines did not include a timeline for when restaurants will be allowed to reopen their doors to customers dining inhouse. Restaurants will reopen once counties meet certain state goals, such as a stable or falling number of COVID19 cases, adequate hospital capacity and trained contact tracers. Bay Area counties are likely to be among the last, and county officials can add restrictions on top of the state’s guidelines.
Local restaurateurs have been most concerned that the state would enforce reduced restaurant capacity, arguing it would be impossible to turn a profit serving half as many diners. In Florida, restaurants have already reopened but at a severely limited 25% capacity.
That’s why some restaurant owners were relieved to see that Newsom’s guidelines don’t include a specific percentage cap. Instead, the guidelines insist restaurants find a way to reconfigure their dining rooms to maintain 6 feet of distance between diners at different tables as well as restaurant employees.
“One size does not fit all,” Newsom said in a televised news confer ence Tuesday. “Each restaurant is different and distinct.”
Some restaurants have fixed furnishings they can’t move — but the results might not be the most inviting.
“You can’t exactly pull a booth out, so you have to put a big X on the table,” said George Chen, owner of San Francisco restaurants China Live and Eight Tables, imagining how some restaurants would implement the social distancing guidelines. “It looks awful. It’s like you’re in a crime scene or something.”
Mat Schuster, chefowner of Canela in San Francisco, was relieved to see flexibility in terms of physical distancing. He worried about his tiny kitchen, which is typical in San Francisco restaurants, and how it’d be impossible to keep employees 6 feet apart. The guidelines require workers to wear masks in such situations. Workers must also wear masks if they interact with customers.
The guidelines also suggest installing physical barriers like Plexiglas to help divide up dining rooms, while also requiring barriers at cash registers, bars and host stands. Restaurant owners expect supply shortages as a result — Chen just tried ordering more Plexiglas, and his supplier is already sold out.
“This is the age of being creative,” said Clay Walker, president of local chain Gott’s Roadside. “I’ve seen pictures of restaurants with backtoback booths that have ceilingsuspended shower curtains dividing them, so that’s potentially an option.”
Walker said he thinks Gott’s is in a good position under these guidelines, with burgers ready for takeout, spacious dining rooms and big outdoor patios. Schuster is concerned about whether employees will want to work again, along with logistical matters, like where diners will wait for a table if it’s raining outside. The guidelines state that diners should wait in their cars, but that’s not so helpful in San Francisco, where many people don’t drive.
Also, because of the need to reduce capacity, Chen said he knows China Live will need to find other revenue streams.
“We’re predicting 60% less revenue if we do a great job,” he said. “At that volume, there’s no way you could survive for very long so you have to pivot to other things like retail, ecommerce, ghost kitchens and deliveries.”